Legal music download sites?

[Big Dave]

Only a mac fan would defend itunes.

I got 4 iPods, best system and best gadgets ever. IPod Touch is simply amazing.
Everything I've wanted to buy at the store has been there - 1 click.

[Usarka]

I got 4 iPods, best system and best gadgets ever. IPod Touch is simply amazing.
Everything I've wanted to buy at the store has been there - 1 click.

lol I understand....it's prolly great if you use apple stuff only but do you also try to play that music through PC, playstation, car stereo etc...?

hence my frustration....

[Big Dave]

lol I understand....it's prolly great if you use apple stuff only but do you also try to play that music through PC, playstation, car stereo etc...?

hence my frustration....

Yeah I do - I run it from the iPod.
I even take a series of drum machine loops on it for portajams.
Jack plugs R us and Line-in is my friend.

[Usarka]

cool..... so how do i play through windows media player?

[Big Dave]

cool..... so how do i play through windows media player?

Akin to fitting Ford parts in a Holden? Just use itunes maybe or rip shit and burn of course.

[Forest]

lol I understand....it's prolly great if you use apple stuff only but do you also try to play that music through PC, playstation, car stereo etc...?

hence my frustration....

The iPod and iTunes support MP3 with no problems at all.

AAC is not an Apple format. Though the fairplay DRM is (if you buy DRM protected music).

[Forest]

Trouble it's encoded at AAC which doesn't work on my WM/PS3 media centre. And converting between lossy formats degrades the quality (i'm a bit of a quality snob on my home stereo, don't care so much on ipod or in car etc).

Install the ffdshow codec and you can listen to AAC through WM.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ffdshow

What bitrate do itunes encode to? Is it lossless?

If you're using iTunes to encode music, you can set the bitrate to anything you want (including lossless).

If you're buying tracks through the iTunes Music Store then they are 128k or 256k AAC. However be aware that at the same bitrate, AAC is better quality than MP3.

[Usarka]

Install the ffdshow codec and you can listen to AAC through WM.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ffdshow

Cool so how about the PS3?

sigh forced into the seedy underbelly of illegal downloads.....

[xwhatsit]

These days you can get DRM-free stuff from iTunes Music Store. If your hardware doesn't support AAC, you can transcode that into MP3 or whatever tickles your fancy, but you will suffer a quality loss (as with any transcoding). If you keep the MP3 as VBR 256/320 or something however, the quality loss won't really be noticeable, especially if you're playing it through shitty hardware like a PS3 or home stereo. However the file sizes will be bigger.

[Usarka]

if you're playing it through shitty hardware like a PS3 or home stereo.

you haven't seen my home stereo


i still can't work out why i cant pay to download either portable format or cd quality songs off the internet.

i can take a cd and play it in all my hi-fi gear be it ford, holden, pc or mac. All these dumb proprietary formats and low bit-rates keep the archaic CD medium a necessity for anyone who digs good quality tunes.

humbug i says.

[xwhatsit]

Amazon lets you buy DRM-free MP3s; unfortunately, you can only do it in the US.

Napster (yes, they still exist, these days as a legitimate company) is now offering DRM-free music downloads. Not sure of the price, but you don't have to be a subscriber (although subscribers get the DRM-free downloads at a discount).

Yes, it's a complete bitch about the lack of good services. However, the tide is just starting to turn now -- iTunes is largely held responsible for this, as they introduced their DRM-free stuff, which sold like hotcakes. The labels previous got stressed out over anything DRM-free, as they thought everybody would just share it and steal it. However the sales have been phenomenal, so the labels have warmed up to licensing their music under such conditions. Thus you're now seeing people like Amazon, Napster, a few others begin to offer tracks in this way.

Only problem is they're still only shitty MP3s. Apparently the demand for music is a decent lossless format is still low. Most people just want to stick it on their iPod or DSE special and listen to it through those foul ear-bleeding earphones that come with the player.

[Usarka]

Nope not them either.........

We're sorry but you cannot purchase tracks from outside the United States.

[Big Dave]

Only problem is they're still only shitty MP3s.

Meh - I've got my computer hooked up to a nice stereo. They'll do.

[vindy500]

low bitrate music sucks balls bad.

(through a decent stereo)

[HondaLad]

Why don't you try http://www.digirama.co.nz

NZ owned and operated site , a lot of their content is MP3 these days and DRM free. I buy all my music through the site, easy to use and the quality is good (unlike my experience with P2P sites where it may take 5 or 6 goes to get a decent copy). Certainly sweet with media player, shouldn't be any probs with your PS3 either?